From Lane Co Oregon

Pengra, Byron J. (1823-1903)

The Briggs brothers ran the mills smoothly until 1865, at which time they sold the operation to a local consortium of prominent businessmen, led by Byron J. Pengra. The enterprise was renamed the Springfield Manufacturing Company (Clarke 1938:10-27).

That same year, he also purchased the Springfield townsite from Elias Briggs. An attempt was made by another group of local investors to build a woolen factory at Springfield in 1865. It was to be called the Springfield Woolen Manufacturing Company. Although capital was raised and construction planned, the venture never went beyond setting up an eight-horsepower carding machine in a building once used as a cabinet shop. Farmers were invited by the owner, Charles Goodchild:

to inspect the new machinery and to patronize the proprietor for the sake of home industry and to save themselves the inconvenience of sending their wool out of the county to be carded (Lomax 1941:301-303). The two-man operation lasted only a short time before being purchased by the Pengra brothers in 1873. The machinery was sold to Drury S. Stayton, who started the woolen mill in Stayton, Oregon (Walling 1884:453).

An active Republican, Pengra established the first Republican newspaper in Oregon in 1858, and called it the People’s Press. He was appointed Surveyor General of Oregon in 1862. He initiated the building of a military wagon road up the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.

Byron J. Pengra's son was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Springfield. He was married to a "G.E. Pengra."

Tombstone

On a marble pillar about a foot and a half tall were written these words:

Son of B.J. & G.E.

Pengra

"Suffer little children -[to]- come unto me,

and for -[forbid]- them not, for of -[such]- is the

Kingdom of Heaven"